Additional Contract Updates and Revisions (continued)
As noted in the new J-CAM, as well as National VP Lew Drass’ article in the Postal Record, please review additional changes to the JCAM language.
Remember, this is your Union and your contract. Keep yourself educated as to what is going on and what can affect your rights and your money.
Article 10, Page 10-2; New employees earning annual leave but not credited with the leave, and may not take it prior to completing 90 days of continuous employment ELM Section 512.313(b).
The 2019 National Agreement established that CCAs converted to career status after at least 90 days of continuous service as a CCA are exempt from this rule.
(See ELM Section 512.313 (b).
· City Carrier Assistants (CCA’s) no longer have a waiting period to be able to take annual leave after being converted to career status unless they are converted less than 90 days after their initial appointment.
· CCAs do not have a waiting period to be able to take earned annual leave.
Page 10-6
The modified memorandum removed the geographic restriction in cases where the donating employee and the receiving employee are members of the same family (son or daughter, parent, and spouse as defined in the ELM Section 515.2).
The parties agreed to further modify the Leave Sharing MOU to allow employees to be eligible to receive donated leave to care for a child born or place for adoption with the employee within the twelve months prior to taking leave.
Language to acknowledge the change to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Re: Leave Sharing.
Article 11
Page 11-2
An employee who works on a holiday (except Christmas Day) or day designated as their holiday will be paid at the base straight-time rate for each hour worked, up to eight. Effective with the 2021 Independence Day holiday, employees who work their holiday or pay designated as their holiday, at their option, may elect to have their annual leave balance credited with up to eight (8) hours of annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay. Overtime is paid for work in excess of eight hours on a holiday or designated holiday (ELM Section 434.53(a). This is true whether or not an employee elects to have their annual leave balance credited with up to eight (8) hours of annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay.
The language acknowledges our new right to have up to eight hours added to our annual leave balance in lieu of receiving holiday leave pay, and makes it clear that this option is available for work performed on an actual holiday or a day designed as a holiday.
Page 11-5
Full-time employees who are scheduled after the Tuesday deadline to replace a properly scheduled CCA who calls in sick or is otherwise unable to work are also eligible for holiday scheduling premium
M-00150 states that when a full-time employee is scheduled on the holiday schedule after the Tuesday deadline to replace a properly scheduled part-time flexible (PTF) who is unable to work for some reason, the full-time employee is eligible for holiday scheduling premium. The new JCAM language recognizes that this rule also applies when a CCA is unable to work.
Article 12
Page 12-15
Prearbitration Settlement, Q06N-4Q-C 11084998, January 22, 2015, M-01852 is listed as a new bullet regarding withholding rules. This settlement resolves the question of what happens when a PTF meets the maximization criteria to be promoted to full-time flexible in an installation that is properly under withholding.
Page 12-17
Full-time and part-time flexible employees involuntarily detailed or reassigned from one installation to another who do not qualify for relocation benefits shall be given not less than thirty days advance notice, if possible. Note that this provision applies not only to those employees who are involuntarily reassigned or excessed from one installation to another, but also to employees, including part-time flexible, who are temporarily detailed on an involuntary basis.
This language recognizes the change of the notice period required for excessing full-time and PTF letter carriers and/or involuntarily loaning PTFs within the commuting distance (50miles) from 60 days to 30 days. This also recognizes the fact that, unlike CCAs, PTFs cannot be involuntarily loaned to another installation without proper notice.
Page 12-19
National Arbitrator Goldberg held in Q10C-4Q-C 12265307, June 24, 2014 (C31339) that when the Postal Service intends to reassign an excessed employee to a position across craft lines under provisions of Article 12, it must determine, prior to the actual reassignment, that the employee meets the minimum qualifications for that position, including the physical requirements.
The parties also agree that when excessing bargaining unit employees from other crafts into city letter carrier positions pursuant to Article 12, any driver testing /licensing requirement contained in the city letter carrier qualification standards must be met prior to reassignment. (Pre-arbitration Settlement, Q06N-4Q-C 81135613, March 16, 2016, M01871).
This language acknowledges that employees from other crafts must meet the physical and driver testing / license requirements before being excessed into the letter carrier craft.
Page 12-24
Those provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding Re: Delivery Unit Optimization that applied to TEs also apply to CCAs.
Page 12-34
This Section applies when the Postal Service needs to reduce the number of employees in an installation more rapidly than is possible through normal attrition. Before excessing the Postal Service must seek to minimize the impact on regular work force employees as follows: Casuals…, CCAs…., PTF Hours…….
Overtime Hours. This section requires that management must “to the extent possible, minimize the impact on full-time positions by reducing overtime” prior to excessing employees.
This section lists the steps that management must take before excessing letter carriers. This language makes management’s recognized obligations (when it comes to reducing overtime) much clearer than the previous JCAM language.
To be continued…………………….
Happy Holidays to all!!
